The Canyon Chronicle - October 1, 2021 (Volume 2, No. 19) - www.thecanyonchronicle.com

T o p a n g a’ s I n d e p e n d e n t Vo i c e S i n c e 19 7 6 October 1, 2021 • Vol. 2, No. 19

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Come home to Sandstone Bluffs Estate COMING SOON

Into the woods, into the views, into 20 acres of a serene country life. Gates open to a long driveway that winds past a huge organic garden with artistic mandala plantings, a sleek barn turned modern guesthouse, orchards, woodlands, and massive boulders. There are soaring wood beamed ceilings, to shelter under. Vast windows bring endless views of distant mountains. Dance on the wide decks under stars you’ll never see in the city. Soak in a pool and spa on the edge of the views. Wander oak forest paths, by a private creek, hike your own trails past powerful boulders, to magnificent views.

Dozens of fruit trees yield their bounty. Bring your horses.

Live like you are on a European vacation. This is away. This is peace. This is home.

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Thinking Out Loud THE “Memory Table” was abundant with photos from Mary’s childhood, old copies of the Topanga Messenger, and the above photo of her and her beloved second husband, Bill Rhodes. Included on the table were photos of the late Colin Penno, editor of the newspaper for 20 years, and Mary’s sister-in-law Patty Colvig (center), who passed September 16.

Publisher / Editor Flavia Potenza Creative Director Nira Lichten Senior Reporter Annemarie Donkin Multimedia Director Jennifer Babcock Creative Consultant Eiffel Nazaryan Contributors Linda Ballou Joel Bellman Kathie Gibboney Paula LaBrot Kait Leonard Amy Weisberg Copy Editor / Distribution Ellie Carroll Contact US

Archival photo of Messenger crew at the Topanga Swap Meet in early ’70s. Photo (l-r): Emily Karnes, Production (seated); Printer Sid Francis (standing); to his right, Editor Flavia Potenza (hidden) and her son in foreground.

editor@thecanyonchronicle.com General inquiries: info@thecanyonchronicle.com Advertising inquiries: ads@thecanyonchronicle.com P.O. Box 1101 Topanga, CA 90290 (310) 460-9786 Follow us on Instagram @thecanyonchronicle, & Facebook and twitter @CanyonChronicle The Canyon Chronicle is an independent community newspaper published bi-weekly by Canyon Media, Inc.©2020. All rights reserved. thecanyonchronicle.com

Remembering Mary T o p a n g a’ s I n d e p e n d e n t Vo i c e S i n c e 19 7 6 October 1, 2021 • Vol. 2, No. 19

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The day seemed full of itself, a fiesta of California sunshine and gentle breezes that set the scene for Mary Colvig’s memorial on Saturday, September 25, at the home of DawnRhodes.

As longtime friends and Topanga Messenger colleagues reunited, tears flowed as much as the margaritas. The “Colvig Kids,” as they called themselves—“Little” Mary, Christina, and their brother, Christopher—fulfilled their mother’s wish that everyone dress in bright colors and come to party. It seems the weather received her orders, too.

The gathering was one of welcoming, discovery, abundance, generosity, a fiesta with tacos and margaritas, with a DJ orchestrating selections from Mary’s musical playlist throughout the day, all in the spirit of who Mary was and will always remain. Daughters Mary and Christina wore crowns of flowers to honor their mother’s love of her garden. Among the family’s gifts to their guests were grandaughter Georgia playing the ukelele as she sang “Over the Rainbow.” Granddaughter Fiona read a tribute to Nana of love and loss. Mary, Christina and Chris recounted their mother’s legacy to them, her dedication to her family, and how, in the last few days, Mary’s determination to finish her clients’ bookkeeping. There was communal laughter of recognition by all who were ever at the receiving end of the “Mary Look” when she was displeased. Beneath the soft-spoken demeanor was a steely will and a clear mind that met and overcame much adversity in her life. Her family was everything to her.

Finally, the strains of “My Way,” brought most of us to tears that needed to be shed.

There was another generous gesture typical of Mary and carried forward by her children. On the “Memory Table” replete with photos and highlights from Mary’s life, were tributes to Colin Penno, editor of the Topanga Messenger for 20 years, who passed suddenly in June; and Patty Colvig, Mary’s sister-in-law, who passed on September 16 (see “Passages,”Page 13). Each of their photos was adorned with a message, “In Loving Memory.”

The afternoon was filled with great joy at meeting old friends (yes, we are older now), and new; with deep hugs, tears, stories, and “Remember whens….” Above all, it was Remembering Mary. The great legacy she left to her children and grandchildren, her friends, colleagues...there aren’t enough glowing adjectives to describe how many and how deeply she affected so many lives.

Mary must have been pleased.

—Flavia Potenza

The Chronicle’s Creative Director Nira Lichten, while hiking along Red Rock Road, noticed that the neighborhood got a jump start on the holiday season. She caught what became our cover portrait of Grandfather Oak keeping an eye on things as Halloween approaches. Nira added another seasonal display to the first of our month-long Halloween coverage by Kait Leonard on pages 8-9.

October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

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October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

NEWS The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

LIVING HABITATS AND NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION

Thanks to a $25 million donation by the Annenberg Foundation, the Liberty Canyon wildlife crossing will carry the name of its benefactor, the “Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.” Design rendering by Living Habitats and the National Wildlife Federation,

By Annemarie Donkin The National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) #SaveLACougars team and the Annenberg Foundation announced that the wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills will be named the “Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.”

The name, announced at a September 24 press conference in the Hollywood Hills, honors American philanthropist Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation’s $25 million donation to allow critical species such as endangered mountain lions to migrate across the 101 among habitats in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Simi Hills, and the Los Padres National Forest. (See related article on Page 12).

Mountain Lions Struggling to Survive To date, the crossing will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world and reconnect a longfragmented ecosystem to help protect the endangered mountain lion population and other wildlife that make their home in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The National Park Service (NPS) reports that twenty-three mountain lions have been struck and killed by traffic in their study area since 2002. According to Wildlife Biologist Jeff Sikich, area mountain lions and bobcats are struggling to survive due to urban development and genetic inbreeding that results from wildlife being unable to cross the highway and roads and find suitable mates. These felines are in desperate need of access to the natural areas on both sides of the 101 freeway.

Public/Private Partnership The project is a public-private partnership that leveraged the expertise and leadership of dozens of organizations and institutions.

The core partners include Caltrans, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica

Mountains Conservancy / Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, and the National Wildlife Federation.

The project partners also added a worldrenown design team led by a landscape architectural practice, Living Habitats LLC, that collaborates with Caltrans and coordinates with a broad team of wildlife crossing experts in the planning and design development of the project.

The Official Unveiling The official naming ceremony took place following a series of major funding milestones that leaves the campaign with only $6.2 million left to raise for construction costs. If the project stays on track with fundraising, the $88 million crossing will break ground in late 2021 and be completed by the end of 2023.

The project has been spearheaded by Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director & Leader, #SaveLACougars, National Wildlife Federation California state leaders and special guests at the ceremony included Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of California Department of Natural Resources; John Donnelly, Executive Director, Wildlife Conservation Board; Assemblymember Richard Bloom; Alan Salazar, Chumash and Tataviam elder; Clark Stevens, Executive officer, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains; and Rorie Skei, Chief Deputy Director, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

Cinny Kennard, Executive Director, Annenberg Foundation, spoke of the $25 million donation to the crossing.

“Throughout the global pandemic, drought and extreme heat, amid these challenges, we maintain hope,” she said. “We take action; the Liberty Canyon crossing is a difference-maker that is capturing the imagination of California

and the entire world so that 10 million people in the County can coexist with remarkable biodiversity.”

Nicholas Rodriguez, District Director for Representative Ted Lieu, revealed that they have put in a $5 million budget request for the wildlife crossing.

“We want to assure biodiversity and prevent extinction of species like mountain lions,” Rodriguez said. “With such a loss of quality habitat, movement is often a common response, and roads present a significant barrier that make their historic habitat less bearable; this funding provides a safe way to cross the 101 freeway.”

David Szymanski, Superintendent, National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, spoke of the critical role the wildlife crossing will play in the area.

“After groundbreaking research on mountain lions for 20 years, this makes scientists happy,” he said. “The protection of the Santa Monica Mountains has kept nature alive in the city. While we can’t match the stewardship of Chumash or the Tataviam, we have a big problem with freeways cutting off habitats, rat poison, and so many other challenges. Yet, by funding the wildlife crossing, the Annenberg Foundation and all donors big and small, we thank you so much!”

Beth Pratt closed the press conference by revealing the name of the wildlife crossing.

“Thank you, we hit our fundraising target,” Pratt said. “We are about $6 million short to break ground on time in December. It’s all that stands in the way of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. Please, whether it’s a $10 or $10 million donation, I’m going to keep my promise—not on my watch will I let this wildlife population go extinct.”

To learn more about the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon visit: https://savelacougars.org.

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Schoolhouse Scoop Back to School!

By TECS News Team

K

ids, parents, and teachers were geared up and ready for the start of the school year at Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) when the front gates opened on August 16. Carrying backpacks and with a keen eye towards a safe return, kids lined up with masks in place.

Protocols, including LAUSD weekly COVID testing, are helping to keep kids and teachers in the classrooms safely. Topanga Elementary principal, Kevin Kassebaum (aka “Principal K”), remarked that the teachers and school staff worked hard to be ready for this school year. “It’s great to welcome kids back and greet many new younger students, joining us for the first time.

Kids have been so positive and excited to be back,” he said.

Nothin’ But Sand September is California Coastal Cleanup month and TECS took part in Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 18th. About 50 Topanga Elementary students were joined by parents and friends from the community for a Topanga Beach cleanup. The event was spearheaded

by Ms. Welch (third-grade teacher) and Dr. Amenta-Shin (aka Dr. A, grades 3 & 4) with the enthusiastic support and participation of their students, who plastered the campus with posters announcing the event.

These trash warriors showed

PHOTO BY TEP

Kids and parents celebrate being trash warriors on Coastal Clean-up Day at Topanga Beach. It was the high point of back-to-school activities for Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS).

up with buckets in hand. Kids and parents searched the sand and scrambled up hillsides and into boulders lining the beach to find trash—there was plenty to find. They collected hundreds of cigarette butts and beverage bottles, thousands of plastic wrappers, countless Styrofoam pieces—hundreds of pounds of trash!

Third grader Wylie Burke said, “It was fun to come out with my friends from school to make our beach and ocean cleaner.”

The beach clean-up is part of the science enrichment program. Ms. Welch said, “What a great day! We are planning more beach-cleanups this year, linking the efforts to lessons in class about reducing, reusing, and recycling.”

The trash collected was recorded in the Clean Swell App, which is uploaded to the Ocean Conservancy’s

global ocean trash database. It will be counted towards the trash total tracked by Heal the Bay. The data will also be analyzed by students in class.

Dr. A shared her plans for how the clean-up will come into the classroom.

“My students are analyzing the data and studying the wider implications of trash in our environment on the health of our oceans and for marine life,” she said.

The beach clean-up and related activities are examples of how Topanga Elementary Charter School supports its mission as a science and arts school with engaging and inspiring exposure to the science that is all around us.

Run Run Run. Topanga Elementary kids will be gathering pledges for the school’s annual Coyote Run! Last year, the activity took a twist due to the pandemic with students fulfilling their activity hours off-campus in a number

of ways, such as skating, skateboarding, dancing, hiking, twirl, horseback riding, swimming, soccer…. This year it’s back to running laps in the school’s upper yard to the cheers of classmates and teachers. Some teachers will come with sneakers on and run alongside their classes. Parents and friends pledge to the Run to raise funds for the enrichment programs. The Coyote run will take place in early October.

Save the Date for Halloween Fun. We are thankful that the TECS Annual Halloween Carnival & Dance Party is back this year with the live band Kummerspeck, plus food trucks, costume contest, dance content, and more. Funds raised will support the arts enrichment at Topanga Elementary. Details will be posted on the school website: topangaelementary. org/halloween-carnival.html.

There are many ways to support the school. Whether you are a parent at TECS, or a community member who believes in the importance of public education, TEP (Topanga Enrichment Programs), the TECS booster club, has an easy way for you to live well and support our school throughout the school year.

Participate in “Farm Fresh to you,” an organic produce delivery service that delivers to your home or office. When you visit farmfreshtoyou.com, order with the code TOPANGAFRESH and 10% of your purchase will be donated to Topanga Elementary Charter School. Our children thank you! n

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October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

News Announcements 5G Free California Resumes Meetings 5GFreeCalifornia (not Topanga Peace Alliance) resumes monthly meetings at the Inn of the Seventh Ray at 7 p.m., on the second Monday of the month. The next meeting takes place Monday, October 11.

The first meeting on September 13 discussed legal, legislative and community updates, brainstorming and discussion on current wireless rollouts and next steps.

It also celebrated The Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) historic win (https://childrenshealthdefense.

org) against the FCC that presented the first real opportunity to create change surrounding 5G technology and harmful wireless radiation.

To join 5GFreeCalifornia or for more information: Julie at (310) 4559389 with questions or to submit agenda items. (wearetheevidence.us) The Inn of the Seventh Ray is located at 128 Old Topanga Canyon Road, Topanga 90290. Valet parking is available or park along Topanga Canyon Blvd. and walk in.

TPA First Friday Film Night: Grab your popcorn and find a cozy spot at home tonight, October 1, as Topanga Peace Alliance hosts another Virtual First Friday Film Night featuring the new documentary, “9/11’s Unsettled Dust.”

The film examines how federal and city officials lied about air contamination in New York City following the destruction of the twin towers and failed to protect public health. It is the story of the deadly illnesses that resulted from this deception, and of the epic battle fought by 9/11 responders and survivors to pass the James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act. The film includes amazing footage of how some politicians in congress fought against providing health care to first responders until they were overwhelmingly shamed into doing so. This is a documentary that

gives just one example of how the greed of the wealthy translates into environmental laws, regulations, and policies that literally kill thousands and thousands of people each year.

We will open the Zoom event at around 7:15 p.m. Before the film, we will have announcements regarding upcoming events and actions for peace and social justice, and talk about follow-up actions to our special September program on systemic racism.

Video will be enabled so guests can optionally see each other if they choose to enable their cameras. After the film we will open a discussion about how wealth and greed are defining our country’s politics and what we can do about it.

Meeting ID: 829 4054 7115, Passcode: Peace2021

COURTESY OF TOPANGA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Rose Wiley making enchiladas for the Strawberry Festival in 1973.

PHOTO BY TONY VEREBES

Rose Wiley at home, 2017.

Historical Society to Celebrate Rose Wiley’s 90th Birthday The Topanga Historical Society (THS) will celebrate Rose Wiley’s 90th birthday on Sunday, October 24, at 12:00 p.m. with a catered outdoor luncheon. Admission is $20. This is a members-only event and RSVP to pay by October 11 is required. Please specify meat or vegetarian and how many are in your group. The event will be held at a private home.

Registered guests will be given the address prior to the event. RSVP and pay by October 11: rsvp@ topangahistoricalsociety.org.

No walk-ins are permitted but those wishing to attend can join THS or renew their membership

at topangahistoricalsociety.org Rosagua “Rose” Wiley is the granddaughter of Francisco and Manuela Trujillo, who settled Old Topanga in 1886. Her mother Cornelia Gomez answered a call to help at the Trujillo Ranch in 1913, and wound up marrying the oldest son, Dolores Trujillo. Rose married Robert Wiley and raised six children—Marguerite, Robert, David, John, Laura, and Jimmy— on the Trujillo homestead where she still lives today.

Learn more about Topanga in our books and archive: topangahistoricalsociety.org.

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October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

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PHOTOS PROVIDED BY NIGHTS OF THE JACK

King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas presents its fourth year of “Nights of the Jack, An Immersive Halloween Experience.”

BY NIRA LICHTEN

Spicey Salamander Stew, anyone? What about Rat-atouille or Roasted Rodent? The menu of Topanga’s latest pop-up dining venue on Red Rock Road, the RoadKill Tavern offers fresh daily specials. Offer good only through October 31.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZOMBIE JOE’S UNDERGROUND THEATRE GROUP Recommended October Activity: Walk through neighborhoods as Halloween Zombie Joe’s Haunted Theater Attraction, “Urban Death Tour of Terror,” frightening displays appear. Trick or treating before October 31 is not recommended. in experimental and unexpected ways.

By Kait Leonard

With more events being confirmed weekly, Halloween 2021 is a thrilling, chilling go!

Halloweenies everywhere are gazing into crystal balls and searching the internet for confirmation that scare-tacular events are actually happening this year. The answer is yes. While some festivities have been canceled, there will be enough terror and mayhem to keep everyone screaming throughout October. Check out these freakish festivities, and jump on tickets fast. Events are expecting to sell out.

Now that’s scary!

The Biggies nott’s Scary Farm will run on select nights from September 16 through October 31. Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights started on September 9 and will run through October 31.

Six Flags’ Fright Fest is happening on select dates from September 11 through October 31.

On a different note but still a Los Angeles biggie, the LA Phil presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for its silent cinema with Clark Wilson. He is regarded as a “master of silent film and showman of the first order,” for his organ accompaniments of silent films, will be performing a haunting score. The one-time performance is on October 31. For tickets: laphil.com/events/performances. Due to construction, check for parking.

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October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

Get Your Tickets Early f you’re hoping for something a bit outside the usual pumpkin patch, look no further. Though more event announcements are expected to trickle in over the next few weeks, space limitations to accommodate for pandemic restrictions are limiting the number of tickets for most events. If something sends goosebumps up your spine, claim your space early.

Hollywood Forever Cemetary. What’s better than a horror flick to ignite the Halloween vibe? Watching it in a cemetery, of course. Cinespia has announced their lineup-ready for Hollywood Forever Cemetery. You can party among the dearly departed every Saturday night in October. Gates open at 5:15 p.m. Bring a picnic or sink your fangs into something from their concession, grill, and bar while the DJ provides pre-flick music. A photobooth is available for a free, social media-ready pic, and then let the onscreen slicing and dicing begin. For schedule and more information, go to cinespia. org. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are non-refundable.

Get yours at eventbrite.com/o/cinespia; (710) 499-4644.

Secret Movie Club. If joining the revenants in the cemetery isn’t your cup of hemlock, Secret Movie Club, screening movies in downtown Los Angeles, has their October schedule posted at secretmovieclub.com/calendar?view=calendar&month=10-2021.

If you’re into the art film scene, it’s hard to imagine that you won’t find a must-see in their lineup. From Fassbinder’s Satan’s Brew to Kim Jee-woon’s I saw the Devil, Secret Movie Club is ready to stoke your nightmares.

Electric Dusk Drive-In. Prefer to be terrorized in the safety of your own car? Electric Dusk Drive-in will make that happen in the old Sears parking lot in Glendale. They offer a range of movies, including family-friendly films like Disney’s Cruella (October 1), Casper (October 10), and Goosebumps (October 15).

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PHOTOS BY CHRISTI ANNA PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO BY KAIT LEONARD

At Electric Dusk Drive-In find family-friendly evenings of not-so-scary movies for kids among the full lineup that includes films for those who like to be terrorized but in the safety of their own car.

At the time of this writing, their schedule through mid-October is up. You can find it at electricduskdrivein.com, and tickets are available at https://bit.ly/3ji5FkZ. They offer a very limited snack table and porta-potties. You’re welcome to bring your own food (no alcohol or smoking is allowed even in cars) or visit the many restaurants within walking distance of the parking lot. It is suggested you buy tickets early, as their events regularly sell out.

Zombie Joe’s. Though every Halloweenie loves a good horror flick, the season isn’t complete without some real-time undead terror. Zombie Joe assures that his band of baddies is ready to shock, scare, and generally freak you out. The incredible Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group in North Hollywood is back in full nightmarish glory with “Urban Death Tour of Terror.” Part maze, part theatre, this event promises to reveal your “deepest fears in a dark and twisting haunted maze and badass theatre attraction,” according to the head zombie. Adult showings are scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays throughout October, plus Sunday, October 31, and Monday, November 1. The zombies are offering a familyfriendly version (suitable for children eight years and older) every Saturday at 7 p.m. Information and tickets are available at zombiejoes.com.

Nights of the Jack. In the mood for a gentler event? Consider “Nights of the Jack, An Immersive Halloween Experience,” returning for its fourth year to King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas. Open from October 1 through October 31 from 6-10 p.m., you will have plenty of time to explore the immersive walking trail which spans twothirds of a mile. The larger-than-life installations contain thousands of carved, illuminated pumpkins. You can also treat yourself to hot cider or a cocktail while sinking your claws into a seasonal snack at the Spookeasy bar. If you’re looking for something more substantial, LA’s finest food trucks will be waiting to serve you. Don’t forget to bring your cameras so you can take advantage of countless

On one day only, October 23, another family-friendly event is “A Faery Hunt Show” (Above left) and “Fairy Halloween Party” (Above right) at the Tarzana Community and Culture Center.

photo opportunities sure to make you the envy of social media.

Information and tickets are available at https://nightsofthejack.com.

A Faery Hunt Show and Fairy Halloween Party. Another family-friendly event is “A Faery Hunt Show” and “Fairy Halloween Party” at the Tarzana Community and Culture Center. The magic happens on Saturday, October 23rd from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“A Faery Hunt” shows are interactive, immersive performances designed to “inspire creativity and fun.” Most children attend in costume; adults are welcome to wear theirs as well. Don’t have an appropriate costume? Wings, wands, and wizard hats will all be available for purchase. Expect dancing, music, games, storytelling, and a magical time for the whole family. For more information: (818) 324-6802; or deb@afaeryhunt.com. For tickets, go to https:// stores.afaeryhunt.com/store-catalog/www.afaeryhunt.com.

Haunt O’Ween LA 2021. Still have dates to fill in your otherworldly organizer? Haunt O’Ween LA runs from October 1 through October 31. This family-friendly, immersive experience offers trick-or-treating, a pick-and-carve pumpkin patch, games, face painting, food, wine tasting, and endless photo ops. Don’t forget to explore the Halloweenthemed tunnels and take a ride on the 40-foot carousel. This Haunt is happening at the Westfield Mall at 6100 Topanga Canyon Boulevard and is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Information and tickets are available at https://socalhauntoween.com.

Halloweenies everywhere are still recovering from the tragic death of Halloween 2020, and recent COVID statistics had more than a few witches and warlocks shaking in their upturned-toed boots. But as boo-licious event confirmations continue to trickle in, it’s time to fire up your broomsticks and carve a pumpkin or two.

Halloween 2021 is on. n NOTE: Check event websites for updated COVID protocols. Some events require proof of vaccination as well as masks.

October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

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Rude Interruptions Catch the Wind

by Joel Bellman

W

hen candidate Joe Biden campaigned on green jobs and clean energy, it was easy to cheer.

“Win-win,” right?

The other guy, after all, had touted “beautiful clean coal” and posed in a hard hat for photo ops with coal executives, while dismissing global climate change as a “con” and a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese and by “scientists who are having a lot of fun.”

He quit the Paris climate agreement, shamefully making the U.S. the only nation to withdraw—a blunder that President Biden quickly reversed during his first month in office.

And few Topangans have forgotten who repeatedly blamed California for its wildfires, telling us to do a better job of sweeping up leaves on our forest floors (which are 58% federal land and only 3% state-owned) and suggesting that because we “don’t listen” to them, the feds should stop paying for forest management.

But the technology meets the terra, so to speak, when the discussion moves from the general to the specific.

Or as former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo once put it, “You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.” While wind energy is instinctively appealing as a clean, natural, renewable resource with a relatively small carbon footprint, things get a little more complicated off the campaign trail and back in the office. It drew little notice at the time,

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Hywind, world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine, being assembled in the Åmøy Fjord near Stavanger, Norway, 2009 (Wikimedia Commons)

but back in May, President Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom announced support for a pair of green energy projects for California that promise major benefits, but like everything else in life, not without some costs.

The energy source is offshore wind, which blows stronger and more consistently than onshore winds during afternoon and early evening hours when demand peaks for electricity. The technology to catch the wind involves enormous turbines nearly 50 stories tall, with blades longer than a football field.

The projects entail dozens of floating turbines, anchored to the ocean floor, wired together to send their electrical output to a seagoing substation, where a cable just under the seabed would carry it onshore to a distributing station and the power grid.

October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

In Northern California, the Humboldt Wind Energy Area comprises about 207 sq. miles about 21 miles off the coast from the city of Eureka. Closer to home, in Central California, the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area, yet to be defined, would fall within a 399 sq. statute mile “Call Area,” located roughly between 1720 miles offshore just outside the southern end of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary between the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse and the coastal town of Cambria.

It’s been a long and tortuous process, which began with an unsolicited private-sector proposal back in 2016 to federal and state government, which morphed into a proposed joint project of US-based Trident Wind and the Germanbased EnBW energy combine, known collectively as Castle Wind LLC. Their plan would involve as much as a 1000 MW wind farm comprising roughly 100 offshore wind turbine generators nearly 500 feet high, sending their energy back to an existing PG&E substation at the decommissioned Morro Bay Power Plant, which PG&E originally built as a coal-fired plant back in the 1950s. It later converted to natural gas before shutting down in 2014, leaving behind its three 450-foot stacks “like a three-fingered salute,” as one local put it—which would cost more to demolish than triple the city’s entire annual budget.

While building and operating a wind farm off Morro Bay is some years off, with more than a few regulatory and permitting hurdles still ahead, public comments on the proposed Humboldt project suggest potential public opposition, too. It seems that for every environmentalist and climate scientist eager to phase out fossil fuels, there’s a wildlife advocate and marine biologist worried about migratory bird patterns and whale entanglements—while commercial fishing interests fret about losing their livelihoods along with their fishing grounds, and shoreline property owners complain about their ocean views ruined by the prospect of faraway wind turbines bobbing faintly on the horizon.

To bring it back home to Los Angeles, and my time at the Board of Supervisors, I was reminded of how bitterly the City of Malibu opposed

Rhode Island, US: 6 MW floating turbine at Block Island Wind Farm, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind-generating network (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior)

Agucadoura, Portugal: Principle Power’s WindFloat Prototype 2MW turbine generator, 2012 (Wikimedia Commons)

any sewer improvements because they allegedly would “promote growth”—even as leaking septic tanks were destabilizing hillsides, incurring millions in County liability, and untreated sewage was bubbling up into shoreline restaurant parking lots.

In another example, as vulnerable as the Topanga community is to wildfire danger, the County’s efforts to upgrade its regional emergency communication system were nearly sunk at the last minute in 2015 by hysterical objections from the firefighters’ union. Because local property owners were balking at leasing their land for the network’s cell towers—while other community members complained the towers would spoil their views—the County opted instead to co-locate the cell dishes at County fire stations already equipped with radio towers. That sent the union into a panic over its members’ potential exposure to “toxic radio frequency radiation.” The County only salvaged the project by scaling back the cell and broadband network by nearly 75%. Today, it’s still several years behind schedule, while the community remains at greater risk.

You could cite the bitter lesson that, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Or more optimistically, that patience and perseverance can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles—even those as challenging as generating clean energy by putting out to sea to try and catch the wind. n

All Things Connected

Floating Solar Farm

Badla Solar Park in India is the largest solar park in the world and is driving economic growth and job creation in surrounding areas.

Solar Farms

O

n our present road trip, we are seeing a new kind of farm— solar farms. Over the vast stretches of deserts and high plateaus, extensive acres of photovoltaic (PV) panels bask in treeless fields, soaking up solar energy to harness the sun’s power. This is different than rooftop or groundmounted installations for private homes or businesses. These solar farms are, essentially, power plants.

As we deal, more and more, with the problems of “centralized power,” these solar farms are a “bright light” in the future of electricity production.

A Little History A couple years ago, I wrote an article called “The Old Grey Grid She Ain’t What She Used to Be.” It explored the condition and vulnerabilities of our electric infrastructure, noting the United States has only three grids— the Eastern, Western and Texas grids.

These grids, or electricity distribution networks, are mainly powered by fossil fuels.

Natural gas is the largest source of fuel for the production of electricity in the United States, providing 40% of the generation of power. Coal is a close third, producing 19% of our energy. Biomass, like animal dung, accounts for 1.4% of the total U.S. electricity generation. Surprisingly, petroleum is the source of less than 1% of our electrical production.

Non-fossil fuels that power up our country are topped by nuclear power, our second largest source of electricity. Using the energy produced by splitting the nucleus of an atom, nuclear power provides 20% or one-fifth of the energy used in the United States.

Wind energy, spinning a turbine connected to a generator, is the source of 8.4% of our harnessed electrical energy. Hydro power uses water to spin a turbine. Hydro power plants produce 7.3% of the U.S. electricity generation. Solar power provides 2.3% of the nation’s power.

Geo-thermal comes in last at 5%.

Despite the varied power sources available, the electricity generated by these sources is funneled into just those three distribution networks— the Eastern, Western and Texas Grids.

This kind of centralized power leaves an electricity-dependent society vulnerable. It’s dangerous.

A New Cash Crop Sumit Chakrabati, writing for solarfeeds.com, reports, “The largest solar farm in the United States is Solar Star in Los Angeles and Kern counties. It generates enough power to serve 255,000 homes. According to Solar Start, it has 1.7 million solar panels spread out in more than 3200 acres in Kern and Los Angeles Counties, California. That is nearly the size of 142 football fields or four times the size of Central Park.”

According to the California Energy Commission, the solar panels use a single-axis tracker to follow the sun’s movement throughout the day.

This feature makes the panels nearly 25% more efficient than motionless panels. The net environmental impact of this clean energy project is significant. The electricity produced by the farm is sold and distributed through the Western grid.

Bhadla Solar Park in India is the largest solar farm in the world to date.

Located in the village of Bhadla in the Jodhpur District of Rajasthan, it is built across 14,000 acres. It produces a staggering 2,245 megawatts (MW) of power. By 2022, Vivani Ratul, the park’s manager, says their goal is to power 75 million households!

It is interesting that the location of Bhadla Solar Park is a geographically harsh area as are the fields I just saw in eastern Utah, western and central Colorado, and central Arizona. It is hot and dry and….very sunny. Perfect solar farming conditions. Because it is often windy in these places, dust accumulating on the panels can impair the capacity of the technology to absorb the sun’s energy. At Bhadla, robotic equipment keeps the panels clear of dust.

According to climateinvestment funds.org, “Bhadla Solar Park is driving economic growth and job creation in surrounding areas. The local service industry has benefited from the influx of workers and ambitious young Indians are finding employment in the renewables sector.

Bhadla is “where the opportunity is,” said 28-year-old Raj Kumar Gupta, an engineer with Rising Sun Energy, a firm helping to develop the site.

Solar Farming—On Water!!

Electrek.com reports, “Singapore-based solar energy provider, Sunseap Group, says it has completed construction of a 5MW peak offshore floating solar

don’t have the room for large land solar farms. “The sea is a new frontier for solar to be installed,” said Shawn Tan, vice president for engineering at Sunseap Group, which completed the project in January.

Solar panel cleaning equipment

farm in the Straits of Johor, between Singapore and Malaysia. It’s one of the world’s largest floating solar farms on sea water.” They anchor the equipment to the seabed and send the power ashore through undersea cables. Singapore takes up about onehalf the space of Los Angeles, so they

The Future of Solar Farming Whether you are a backyard gardener or a commercial farmer, the technology for harnessing the sun’s power is available on any scale. It’s just very important that we start de-centralizing our electric resources. Solar farms can be an important factor in creating local power grids, decreasing our vulnerability to large, regional power outages. Even if you have a generator, you need gas to run it. If there is no electricity, you cannot pump gas.

The sun, however, never gets disconnected.

Vamos a Ver!

Jennifer deSpain, CPA, CFP®

Business/Personal Tax & Financial Services Tel. 818.883.4800

Photo by Miriam Geer.

By Paula LaBrot

CanyonOakFinancial .com October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

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Astrology October 2021—Get Ready for the Ride

By Kait Leonard

T

hink of October as a rollercoaster. During the first half of the month we’ll be inching up that steep incline, eager to get to the good part. Around mid-month, we’ll reach the apex, tip over, and here we go!

As we enter October, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Mercury are retrograde, which means they appear to be moving backward. However, with the exception of Mercury, this retrograde period has been going on for a while, so October will begin feeling like more of the same. By mid-month, when everyone except Neptune turns direct, we’ll start to feel life speed up and projects that have been difficult to get off the ground will finally start moving forward.

As always, to see where the planetary energies will play out in your life, you need your birth chart based on the exact time, date and place of your birth. You can get one by searching for free birth charts online.

PEXELS-DANA-CETOJEVIC-3888315

The Significance of Each Direction Change Pluto began its retrograde in Capricorn on April 27th and will be the first to flip around.

The god Hades requires us to face life’s biggest issues. He usually brings up imbalances of power and requires that something be done about them. When moving backwards, Pluto takes us on an inner journey. He forces us to consider our personal power and identify areas of life where we’ve let it slide. Pluto retrograde can be emotionally exhausting, but once he turns direct on October 6th, we should be able to address the issues we’ve uncovered during our trip to the underworld and take back our power. Afterwards, we have the strength to move directly toward our goals.

Saturn in Aquarius has been retrograde since May 23rd. Saturn is the farthest planet visible from earth without a telescope, making him the keeper of boundaries. He is also the taskmaster of the zodiac. While retrograde, we’re being given the opportunity to examine our own boundaries. Are they appropriate and well-defined? Have we allowed them to slip here and there? Saturn also governs hard work. He forces us to question whether our efforts are paying off. When Saturn turns direct on October 11th, we can reestablish boundaries and adjust how, and even with whom we’re working in order to achieve the success and recognition we deserve.

Also in Aquarius, expansive Jupiter

turned retrograde on June 20th and will go direct on October 18th. Jupiter is usually a very outward focused planet. Its job is to make things bigger and usually better.

It is the planet of good luck. During this retrograde period, we may have been feeling more introspective. It may have been difficult to launch plans and projects. During the remainder of the retrograde, it’s best to spend time rethinking and revising existing plans rather than trying to move forward.

From October 18 on, everything should start moving again and luck will return.

Mercury went retrograde in Libra on September 27th and turns forward on October 18th. Mercury’s backward motion brought the usual glitches in his areas of communication, technology and travel. But with Mercury and Jupiter both turning direct on the same day, the end of October should be full steam ahead. Projects and plans can move forward without the complications that have been plaguing us. And our good luck should return.

Only Neptune in Pisces continues its retrograde through all of October. In fact, the planet of illusion, fantasy and deception won’t flip until December 1st. During this period, Neptune is likely to strip away our rose-colored glasses and force us to see things as they are whether we want to or not.

Fortunately, Neptune enjoys being in Pisces, so this softens his actions a bit. While we may prefer to cling to our pretty pictures, our forced clarity will end up being for the best.

Like all good rollercoasters, October is a combination of the slow climb before the wild ride. Just buckle up, hold on tight, and scream when you need to. It’s going to be one heck of a ride. n

Senator Stern and Governor Newsom Administration Award $20M Grant to Build World’s Largest Wildlife Crossing National Wildlife Federation, leading the effort with Annenberg Foundation, kicks off “Nature Based Infrastructure” tour to raise awareness and crowdfund.

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T o p a n g a’ s I n d e p e n d e n t Vo i c e S i n c e 19 7 6

A DV E R T I S E W I T H U S ! for Information, email ads@thecanyonchronicle com 12

October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

he largest wildlife corridor project in the world, across the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills, is one step closer to breaking ground.

Last month, the Wildlife Conservation Board, with funding secured by Senator Stern in this year’s climate change budget negotiations, awarded $20 million to the project, matching a recent private philanthropic $25 million gift from the Annenberg Foundation.

“Building this corridor makes our communities and freeways safer, and will sustain jobs and the environment with a new kind of infrastructure. We can re-engineer the nature we destroyed with the freeways and sprawl of LA, as we must, to prevent a mass extinction event on our watch,” said Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee.

Stern’s SB 790 to expand efforts to build more wildlife corridors through long-term transportation infrastructure funding is pending before Governor Gavin Newsom, awaiting a

signature. The crossing responds to more than two decades of National Parks Service and other research on the Los Angeles area’s endangered mountain lion populations and other threatened ecosystems, which shows that absent quick action to overcome freeway barriers, extinction is likely due to compounding threats from rodenticides, extreme climate, and developmental encroachment. This project will reconnect an entire ecosystem by linking the Santa Monica Mountains to the Sierra Madre Range, one of the few coastal-to-inland corridors remaining in Southern California.

The project has raised more than $44 million in private funds and with the new state funds it is expected to break ground later this year on a natively vegetated overpass spanning the 101 Freeway and Agoura Road near the Liberty Canyon Road exit. This is one of the only remaining stretches of the 101 with undeveloped habitat on both sides of the freeway.

“When the Governor and I walked this site years ago, I knew he got the gravity of the mission,” said Stern. “But now, with Secretary Crowfoot and Director Donnelly and the whole team on board, and the biodiversity science and infrastructure funding moving in concert, this is no longer just inspiration. Now we build.”

PASSAGES Patricia Colvig—1949-2021

By Flavia Potenza

P

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLVIG FAMILY

atricia Colvig, talented researcher for films and movies, was a big-hearted, fiercely independent, rambunctious, and witty woman with an eye for beauty and a passion for her bestie canine friends. She had many beloved pups over her 72 years, and each one was pampered with dog movies and ice cream and, on Sundays, bacon, which she fried up for all the neighborhood dogs who visited. She loved nature and lived surrounded by it in her beautiful Topanga Canyon home, decorated with lovely art and artifacts she had collected on her journeys around the world.

A fighter from an early age, when cancer took one of her eyes, Patty passed away at home September 16, 2021, a beautiful sunny day in the canyon. She was surrounded by family, and a large circle of her dearest friends, showering her with love. Her hard journey with metastatic breast cancer was over, and she left this world with grace and peace.

Patty was born in the spring of 1949 in Denver, Colorado, to Fred and Mary Brigid (Honey) Colvig. She graduated from Marymount High School in 1967. She took a sabbatical during her college years to travel through Eastern Europe by VW van, and it was there she discovered her love of art history. She then spent two years sailing in the South Pacific, exploring the islands, teaching native women new skills, and working as paid crew, including on an oceanographic research vessel. She visited Australia and Indonesia during this time.

Patty eventually came home and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Printmaking and Art History from CSU Long Beach. She never lost her passion for world travel, and toured extensively around North America.

In more recent years Patty was so happy to visit her cousin, John, in Madagascar. She had long hoped to travel to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, to recover the remains of her father, who was killed in a plane crash returning from a journalistic assignment to Indonesia for the Denver Post when she was just four months old. Unfortunately, this goal was never accomplished due to her health.

Patty began working in films and TV in 1985. She loved research and production.

Hill Street Blues (NBC), The Astronomers (PBS), Planet Earth (PBS), The History of Christianity – The First Thousand Years (A&E), I Witness Video (NBC News), and Channel One News, are among some of the productions she worked on.

Her colleagues remember her as insightful, creative, devoted, authentic, and a team player. She took no guff and was full of mischief. When one of her bosses, an entertainment lawyer, asked her to fetch a file for him, she put the file in her mouth, got down on all fours, and trotted into his

Patty Colvig always had dogs. From her lab mix, Honey, who wore pearls to a ‘70s dinner party, to Seamus (above) who, with Patty, hosted “Bacon Sundays” for their canine neighbors on Encina Road.

Patty loved research, film and TV production.

Friends remember her as authentic and full of mischief.

office like a dog. A male waiter at a local restaurant—where Patty was one of the first women hired to serve—gave her a hard time about her eye, calling her “the freak.” He liked ice in his beer. So Patty reached into her purse for her spare glass eye one night and dropped it in his schooner. He almost fell off his stool when it clinked against his teeth.

A pretty blue-eyed woman with an

infectious deep laugh, Patty loved bringing people together to celebrate life. Parties on the deck of her Topanga Canyon home were legendary. She loved passing out her signature margaritas, made with fresh squeezed lime juice and Cointreau.

Patty lived life to the fullest and had deep gratitude for family, friends, experiences, opportunities, and a home to share with others where she ultimately ended her journey. Patty’s courage in facing this final challenge was a model to all of us who were lucky enough to have her in our lives.

She is survived by her beloved pup, Seamus; her sisters Brigid Miller and Michol Frain; cousins David Reddy and John Reddy; eight nieces and nephews; 12 great-nieces and nephews; six great-great nieces and nephews; many honorary nieces and nephews; and more dear friends than one could count.

One of her greatest joys was being “Ant” Patty (as she preferred to be called), and she went above and beyond to be a big part of their lives, sharing family heritage and history She is preceded in death by her father Fred Colvig, mother Honey Faust, step-father Gus Faust, brother Christopher “Kit” Colvig, sister-in-law Mary Colvig-Rhodes, and numerous “fur-babies.”

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Patty asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations are sent to Topanga Women’s Circle, an organization for which she was an active volunteer for many years. n ht tps://topangawomenscircle.org/files/

TheCanyonChronicle.com October 1 • Vol. 2 No. 19

13

Environment Turtle Emergency Water Delivery

By Rosi Dagit, Sr. Conservation Biologist, RCDSMM

T

he drought and extreme heat have been tough on many critters, but you can help save one of our last remaining reproducing populations of southwestern pond turtles in the Santa Monica Mountains. These turtles require ponds for food and safety, so when their pond and pools go dry, they go hungry and are easy prey for predators such as ravens, raccoons, and dogs.

With so little rain this year, the last refugia turtle pools were going dry. A team of 25 volunteers led by the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM) decided it was time to help. On Saturday, September 4, the team deployed twenty 100-foot-long hoses, carrying them up a steep 200foot ravine to get water to the last refugia pools left supporting native pond turtles. Manzanita School/Cali Camp donated water, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) provided extra hoses to help. Thanks to our engineering Call Firefighter volunteers Ken Widen, Joshua Widen, and Chris Walley, we were able to manage sufficient water pressure to get the water up the hill.

Overseeing the repair of hoses that blew out with the pressure, were Delmar Lathers and Jayni Shuman. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) biologist, Chris Dellith and his wife Melissa, helped make sure that the water was dechlorinated and well aerated before it gently hit the pools. It took all day to deliver more than 2,000

PHOTOS BY RCDSMM STREAM TEAM

Volunteers Isaac Yeltsin and Steve Engelman in lower pool to test water quality before filling.

gallons of water, almost filling both refugia pools. Five turtle hatchlings, several juveniles and small adults immediately took advantage of the improved habitat!

Now that we know this can work,

we are seeking $11,000 to purchase the materials to set up a more permanent solution so that we can fill the pools as needed if the rains fail to come this winter.

Southwestern pond turtles are

the only turtle native to southern California and their populations are in such decline that USFWS is considering a petition to list them as endangered. They are presently listed as a California Species of Special Concern. Since 2002, the RCDSMM has been monitoring turtle populations throughout the Santa Monica Mountains, working with the National Park Service, CA State Parks, and the SMMC to identify and protect the small populations that remain. During the extended drought in 2015, 50 individuals died of starvation and another 15 lost limbs and had to be moved into captivity in a handicapped turtle pool. Three surviving females found a home with two males at the Santa Barbara Zoo, where it is hoped their offspring can recolonize habitat destroyed by the Thomas and Woolsey Fires.

While setting up a turtle water delivery system is definitely a last-ditch effort to sustain this population in the wild, we hope that it will allow these long-lived turtles to survive as the climate shifts. We know that Patty (named when she was tracked!) and three other adult females initially tagged in 2002, joined several adult males, 16 new juveniles, and 6 hatchlings in these pools seeking food and shelter this past summer. Now they can enjoy a good feast before heading up into the chaparral to aestivate and wait for the rains to come.

To help ensure these turtles’ survival, a tax-deductible donation to the RCDSMM Turtles (rcdsmm. org) will help make it happen. n

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